DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.5253#0279
246 ARCHAIC SCULPTURE.
length, here they are made, as in life, unequal. The former leanness has
yielded to a more natural roundness, the veins are, moreover, swollen, and
casual folds in the skin are expressed, as we see in the noble forms of the
fallen warrior and Heracles. The impossible lines of the hair, so like strings
of macaroni, and rows of shells or beads, are superseded by freer ones ; the
beards are more easy ; the finely executed ears do not appear as if fastened on
from the outside, but as if growing with the head ; the eyes are less Chinese-
shaped ; and the corners of the mouth have loosened, causing the stereotyped
grimace to disappear from the strong faces of the warriors. In both groups,
however, we admire the consummate skill with which the shields are chiselled
in the hard Parian marble to a thinness of less than two inches, and balanced
on the extended arms ; and we are surprised at the successful poising of all the
figures, which, with the exception of the bended, clutching warriors, were
entirely free from artificial supports, so common in marble statues. These
features, moreover, all suggest the peculiarities of bronze works. Throughout
there is a sharpness which is foreign to the nature of marble, and reminds us
strongly of the clean, sharp lines of metal casting. In connection with this
bronze-like character of these marbles, it may be remembered, that it was for
statues in bronze that ^Egina was famed throughout the ancient world, and
that by them, doubtless, the island sculptor in marble was influenced.
The thoroughly plastic conception of these figures, each being treated as
a single statue, calls to mind also the single and well-developed frame of the
athletes, the sculptor's favorite theme in ^Egina. Because thus emphatically
statuesque, these groups, although intended to adorn a temple, appear devoid
of the united and picturesque effect justly required of decorative sculpture.
Adjuncts of color and bronze were freely used in both pediments. The
helmets, shields, and quivers were painted blue or red; the eyes, lips, and
hair also show traces of color; while the nude seems to have been only
slightly stained. The lances and bows in the hands, as well as the extra curls
(see Paris), were doubtless all of bronze. This addition of color and bronze
to the Parian marble must have given these ancient sculptures, as they stood
complete in the pediments, a far different aspect from that they now present,
— their color faded, the bronze accoutrements gone, and the whole restored
by modern hands.
To complete our picture of these admirable temple sculptures, we must
remember that at the summit of each pediment, on each side of the crowning
palmette, and thus forming the acrotcria, stood two small female figures.
They were clad, after the manner of very many archaic draped figures, in
long garments, which they held up with one hand (compare p. 194). Marble
griffins, one of which has been restored, crowned the four corners of the pedi-
ments.422
As to the exact date of the /Egina temple and its sculptures, several
length, here they are made, as in life, unequal. The former leanness has
yielded to a more natural roundness, the veins are, moreover, swollen, and
casual folds in the skin are expressed, as we see in the noble forms of the
fallen warrior and Heracles. The impossible lines of the hair, so like strings
of macaroni, and rows of shells or beads, are superseded by freer ones ; the
beards are more easy ; the finely executed ears do not appear as if fastened on
from the outside, but as if growing with the head ; the eyes are less Chinese-
shaped ; and the corners of the mouth have loosened, causing the stereotyped
grimace to disappear from the strong faces of the warriors. In both groups,
however, we admire the consummate skill with which the shields are chiselled
in the hard Parian marble to a thinness of less than two inches, and balanced
on the extended arms ; and we are surprised at the successful poising of all the
figures, which, with the exception of the bended, clutching warriors, were
entirely free from artificial supports, so common in marble statues. These
features, moreover, all suggest the peculiarities of bronze works. Throughout
there is a sharpness which is foreign to the nature of marble, and reminds us
strongly of the clean, sharp lines of metal casting. In connection with this
bronze-like character of these marbles, it may be remembered, that it was for
statues in bronze that ^Egina was famed throughout the ancient world, and
that by them, doubtless, the island sculptor in marble was influenced.
The thoroughly plastic conception of these figures, each being treated as
a single statue, calls to mind also the single and well-developed frame of the
athletes, the sculptor's favorite theme in ^Egina. Because thus emphatically
statuesque, these groups, although intended to adorn a temple, appear devoid
of the united and picturesque effect justly required of decorative sculpture.
Adjuncts of color and bronze were freely used in both pediments. The
helmets, shields, and quivers were painted blue or red; the eyes, lips, and
hair also show traces of color; while the nude seems to have been only
slightly stained. The lances and bows in the hands, as well as the extra curls
(see Paris), were doubtless all of bronze. This addition of color and bronze
to the Parian marble must have given these ancient sculptures, as they stood
complete in the pediments, a far different aspect from that they now present,
— their color faded, the bronze accoutrements gone, and the whole restored
by modern hands.
To complete our picture of these admirable temple sculptures, we must
remember that at the summit of each pediment, on each side of the crowning
palmette, and thus forming the acrotcria, stood two small female figures.
They were clad, after the manner of very many archaic draped figures, in
long garments, which they held up with one hand (compare p. 194). Marble
griffins, one of which has been restored, crowned the four corners of the pedi-
ments.422
As to the exact date of the /Egina temple and its sculptures, several